Bulldogs veteran Josh Reynolds was almost binned for dissent on the stroke of halftime on Sunday, with referee Grant Atkins laying down the law that he won’t be warned again.
Reynolds was penalised for flopping on Dragons fullback Tyrell Sloan in the 39th minute and as the siren blew moments later, he asked Atkins “What did I do?”.
“I thought you got him in the back of the head on the way down,” Atkins responded.
Reynolds, 34, then blew his gasket and snapped back: “Bullshit I hit him in the back of the head.”
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That prompted a furious response from Atkins who said “I beg your pardon” and called out Reynolds and Canterbury captain Reed Mahoney.
“If this bloke speaks to me like this again, he’s going to the bin. You take the 10 minutes (halftime break) now to work it out because if he comes at me again about anything, he goes,” Atkins said to Mahoney.
Reynolds tried to interject while Atkins was talking to Mahoney which saw the referee turn to the Dogs playmaker and issue you him a firm directive.
“Go away, I’m not speaking to you for the rest of the game,” Atkins said to Reynolds.
Mahoney apologised to Atkins and he responded: “He (Reynolds) needs to apologise, not you.”
Reynolds apologised to Atkins at halftime but Fox League experts Greg Alexander, Corey Parker and Braith Anasta suggested it was a storm in a teacup.
“Naughty naughty Josh Reynolds and he had a word to the touch judge on the way off too, he can’t help himself,” Anasta chuckled.
“Before we heard the audio and the way the referee reacted, I thought what he said must have been a lot worse than that,” Alexander responded.
“I mean you can’t talk to the ref like that but it’s not the crime of the century.”
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Parker added: “We’re playing rugby league, heat of the battle, nothing derogatory, they just disagreed, move on.”
Reynolds earned a surprise top 30 contract for 2023 after initially joining the squad at the start of pre-season to keep fit while working at the club in an off-field role.
The veteran earned his first start of the season against the Dragons and starred in the No. 6 jersey in the first half.
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